Doctor John Dolittle
John Dolittle was a medical doctor and quiet bachelor who lived with his spinster sister, Sarah, in the little town of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh in the West Country of England in the early nineteenth century. He was a prominent vet who was reputed to know the language of the animals, and so was very well suited to treat them. He also spoke Spanish. He was described as a "round" man, but he also demonstrated some athleticism. He was generally not a violent man, often demonstrating great compassion and making friends and allies along the way. Early Life Doctor John Dolittle was a prominent and respected country physician whose love for animals, tragically, led to a decrease in custom; indeed, he became quite the eccentric, his house being filled with various animals, including Polynesia, Gub-Gub, and Chee-Chee, who succeeded in scaring odd his sister. Finally, in 1818, Polynesia, an African Grey parrot, taught the doctor to communicate with animals, and, with his new-found knowledge, Dolittle was able to open up a veterinary service. Dolittle's compassion and ability to speak to animals resulted in him gaining a great reputation amongst animals around the world. Eventually, he was summoned to Africa to cure a monkey epidemic. Unfortunately, Dolittle's reputation among animals had not translated into financial success with humans, and, facing bankruptcy, he borrowed supplies and a ship to head for Africa. Voyages On the way to the monkey kingdom, his band was arrested by the king of Jolliginki, a victim of European exploitation who wanted no white men traveling his country. The band barely escaped by a ruse, but made it to the monkey kingdom where things were dire indeed as a result of the raging epidemic. Dolittle vaccinated the well monkeys and nursed the sick back to health. In appreciation, the monkeys found a pushmi-pullyu, a shy two-headed gazelle-unicorn cross-breed, and gave it to Dolittle. On the return trip, they again were captured in Jolliginki. This time they escaped with the help of Prince Bumpo, no relation to Natty Bumppo, who gives them a ship in exchange for Dolittle's bleaching Bumpo's face white, his greatest desire being to act as a European fairy-tale prince. Dolittle's crew then had a couple of run-ins with pirates, leading to Dolittle winning a pirate ship loaded with treasures and rescuing a boy whose uncle was abandoned on a rock island. After reuniting the two, Dolittle finally made it home and toured with the pushmi-pullyu in a circus until he made enough money to retire to his beloved home in Puddleby. Later, Dolittle took up a quest to find a man named Long Arrow, who was purported to be the greatest naturalist in the world. The quest took Dolittle around the world, with fantastic adventures in the Mediterranean region, South America, on the mysterious floating island of Spidermonkey Island, and even underwater! Dolittle's Human Friends *Matthew Mugg - The Cat's-meat-man from Puddleby. He is a friend of Doctor Dolittle and helps to take care of the doctor's house and garden when the doctor is away traveling. *Prince Bumpo - A prince from the African kingdom of Jolliginki, who has been sent to study at Oxford University by his father. Bumpo carries a green umbrella and prefers to go bare feet, usually discarding any shoes he is given. *Tommy Stubbins - The son of a cobbler named Jacob, who becomes Dolittle's new assistant at the age of 9. Tommy learns how to speak animal languages, and accompanies Doolittle on his quest to find Long Arrow. Dolittle's Animal Friends *Polynesia - An African Grey parrot. She is able to speak English and first taught Doctor Dolittle the language of animals. She always says she can never remember how old she is, but she remembers that when she came to England, she saw Charles I hiding in an oak tree from the Roundheads: "he looked very frightened". *Gub-Gub - A pig who has written a book, "An Encyclopaedia of Food." *Jip - A dog with a very strong sense of smell. *Chee-Chee - A monkey who was once the property of an organ-grinder. *Dab-Dab - A duck who serves as Dolittle's housekeeper after Sarah Doolittle leaves. *Too-Too - An owl who serves as Dolittle's accountant, and can tell the Doctor immediately how much money he has in the money box. *Pushmi-pullyu - A "gazelle-unicorn cross-breed" which has two heads (one of each) at opposite ends of its body. When it tries to move, both heads try to go in opposite directions. Category:Pages Category:People Category:Stubs Category:Scientists Category:Doctors